


reason to stay

by general_tyson



Series: reason to stay [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background one-sided Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett, Beau Bullies To Show Affection, But the boys are so Soft, Fluff, I don't know how tags work, M/M, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Secret Relationship, That I've decided it's Fluff, rated teen for like one (1) swear, unfortunately
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:06:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/general_tyson/pseuds/general_tyson
Summary: Beau questions Fjord. Caduceus accidentally spills a secret.**Disclaimer/Spoilers for CR2E114: This was conceived and written before confirmation of canon ace/aro Caduceus. Future fics will be written with this in mind**
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Fjord, Fjord & Beauregard Lionett
Series: reason to stay [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887076
Comments: 15
Kudos: 187





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Why would Fjord be inclined to leave the party? I don’t know! I am at the mercy of my whims and this scenario came to me in a dream. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy some soft Wildmother boys.
> 
> Update: I thought this was just going to be one chapter but all of a sudden I have 1k+ more words to say about these soft boys! Will post next two chapters in the next two days.

“Seriously man, how do we know you’re not gonna run off on us?”

Beau pulls the bandages on Fjord’s arm a little too tight, but he knows better than to complain. Both clerics were knocked out with sleep spells during the fight and were still mostly out of it. Caleb had set up the dome immediately after the battle and was now also unconscious from exhaustion. Veth and Yasha were still mostly standing and working on rousing the clerics and wrapping their injuries the best they could. Fjord’s eyes flicker over to the gash in Caduceus’s chest that he hopes isn’t as deep as it looks. 

Beau starts working on another wound, still wrapping them too tight. Whatever beast it was they were fighting had been flying for most of the battle, rendering Beau’s punches all but useless. Thank the Wildmother they had stocked up on javelins for Yasha last time they were in a town.

“Hey, Fjord. Asked you a question,” Beau flicks him on the forehead, bringing him out of his thoughts. 

“I’m not going to leave. Can’t you trust me on that?”

Beau grunts. “Dunno. You’ve been distant, man. I’m wondering what’s keeping you here.”

Fjord bites his lip, and immediately regrets it when his tusks pierce his skin. They were growing in much quicker than he remembered. Still composing the sentence in his head as he opens his mouth to speak, to reassure Beau that he has no intention of leaving without sharing too much, Fjord starts to—

“Me.”

Beau whips around to look at the pile of clerics, seeing Yasha still tending to Jester and a somewhat conscious Caduceus propping himself up on his elbows and squinting towards Fjord and Beau. 

“Fjord’ll stay with me. An’ I wanna stay with you all. So does he. Oh, wow, this hurts. Is it morning yet? D’you want breakfast?” Caduceus’s eyes begin to close even as he speaks, and he slips back down to the ground to cuddle with Jester. 

Yasha is the one to break the silence. “It’s not morning yet. Get some sleep, Caduceus. I’m going to, uh, just—hey Veth, I think I heard a noise over there. Let’s go check it out.”

Veth, who’s still fussing over Caleb, groans, “I can’t see in the dark anymore, can’t I just stay here and—“ Her protests are quickly cut off when Yasha scoops her up with one hand and all but sprints out of the dome. 

Beau whips back around to stare down Fjord, who is redder than she’d thought possible for someone with green skin. 

“Look, Beau, I—“

Whatever Fjord was going to say gets cut off as Beau punches his uninjured arm. She definitely pulls the punch but her fists are still magical as she constantly reminds them, and it’s enough to shut him up for a moment. 

“That’s great man. Really. I’m happy for you two,” Beau’s eyes flicker over to the cleric pile where Jester now has her tail wrapped around Cad’s ankle, twitching when he starts to snore. Beau’s usual frown—which, he has to be honest, is considerably less abrasive than when they met months ago—vanishes as she looked the tiefling over. 

Gods, Fjord knows that face. Knows it from the months he caught himself staring at Caduceus during quiet moments, sitting with him and communing, sharing a cup of tea when neither of them could sleep, watching him care for his garden in the Xhorhouse. He knows the face of someone who is internally piecing together how they feel and not having any idea what to do with the information, but too happy to care. 

Smiling, Fjord elbows Beau and she returns to bandaging up his arm. 

“I mean, I feel this is definitely information that your first mate should have known, totally seems in the realm of things important for sea-faring and what not—“

“I was a first mate for over a decade and I never—“

“Empire rules, man, we do things differently. But anyways, now I know, and I can make up for all the teasing opportunities I’ve missed.”

Fjord groans and drops his head into his free hand, realizing the ammunition he’s just handed to Beau. 

“Be gentle, will you? This is fairly new for me, and totally new for him....it’s not something I’m eager to mess up. Besides traveling with you all, I think this might be the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“Damn. You’ve got it bad, man. Love has made you  _ soft _ .”

Fjord blushes and sputters when Beau says ‘love’, but he doesn’t deny it. Huh. Beau’ll have to file that away for later. 

“Don’t worry man. I’m nice these days, didn’t you hear? I got your back.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course man.”

....

“But you do know Jester’s going to totally flip out, right?”

Fjord is still groaning when Yasha and Veth return to the dome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just Fjord and Caduceus being soft.

The next morning, Fjord wakes with the sunrise, a habit he’s gotten into ever since pledging himself to the Wildmother. Part of it is that he feels her presence strongly in the morning sun, feels the rays piercing his skin and warming him to his very bones. The other, probably more significant part of his motivation, is that he can always rely on Caduceus to be awake before him and ready with tea. Privacy is not a luxury Fjord has often been afforded in his lifetime, and the Nein are no exception, and Fjord relishes these little moments he shares with Caduceus.

Tiptoeing around the rest of the party still cuddled up in the dome--he makes a quick note of how Beau has unconsciously curled closer to Jester in her sleep, her hands inches away from the tiefling’s arm--Fjord exits the dome and glances around until he spots Caduceus, meditating next to a steaming teapot and two waiting teacups.

Stretching the last of the aches from yesterday’s battle, Fjord settles himself down in front of Cad, mirroring his crossed legs and taking his soft upturned hands into his own. Caduceus smiles slightly as Fjord leans in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

“Hey,”

“Good morning.”

They sit together in silence. At first Fjord had a hard time getting his mind to shut off in the way he needed in order to meditate, but sitting here in the morning sun with Caduceus’s hands in his own, Fjord finds himself hard pressed to think about anything else but the moment. 

Eventually, they hear the sounds of their friends starting to rise and the two finish their morning trances. Caduceus starts to clear up the tea as Fjord remembers his conversation with Beau from last night. 

“Hey, Caduceus, uh, just so you know—you were kind of out of it, last night, and you said some things to Beau and so now she knows. About us, I mean.” Fjord gives the hand in his a hesitant squeeze and scoops up the teapot. 

“Oh, and Yasha knows. Also. And maybe Veth, but she might not have been paying attention, she was worried about Caleb, you know how she is. But some of them know, now, so I figure we might as well tell everybody. If you’re okay with that?” Fjord knows Caduceus is far too perceptive to miss the tinge of anxiety in his voice, but he’s also far too kind to think less of him for it. 

Caduceus squeezes his hand reassuringly, “Oh, is this like a thing people announce? I don’t really know how people do this, I’ve been going off of you. But yeah, let’s tell people. That’ll be nice.”

Fjord looks up at Caduceus and grins as the knot of tension in his chest loosens at Cad’s words. Every day that he spends with Caduceus and the Nein makes that bundle of anxiety and stress and insecurity a little smaller; it is a weight Fjord was not even aware he carried until these people started working their way into his heart.

“That’s great, Deuces. I’d like that a lot. And, you know, it’s not that I ever felt the need to, to  _ hide _ anything from everyone, but...” Fjord trails off, uncertain how to explain what it is he feels, but Caduceus always seems to understand what he’s trying to say.

“But it’s nice to have something just for yourself?” It’s Cad’s turn to sound uncertain, and Fjord instinctually reaches up to cup his cheek in his hand. Fjord knows that as new as having a relationship is for Caduceus, it’s equally strange for the cleric to have something that’s personal and private like this. His mission to save the Blooming Grove was and still is personal despite its apparent completion, but it’s also a mission he’s shared with his entire extended family. Fjord would never fault Caduceus for wanting something just to himself, but suspects Cad doesn’t feel the same. But, that’s a conversation for another time. 

“Yeah. It’s nice. This is nice. You’re, uh, real nice, Cad.” Fjord drops his hand as he stammers through the compliment. Gods, he’ll flirt his way through any sort of situation with a stranger but when it’s with someone he lo--likes, he’s hopeless.

“You know, out of the two of us I would have figured that I’d be the one to be bad at flirting, but...”

“Aw, hey now--” Fjord’s protests are cut off at the sight of Caduceus grinning down at him, clearly pleased with himself. Wildmother knows Fjord can’t resist it when Cad smiles that openly at him. “Yeah, yeah, make fun of the sweet-talker. That just means you get to be the one to break it to the group.”

“I think I can handle that,” Caduceus murmurs as he pulls Fjord closer for a quick kiss. “C’mon, let’s go back to the group.”

Smiling at Caduceus’s soft gaze and the residual feeling of his lips on his, Fjord takes Cad’s hand and leads him back to their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally just going to end here but then I wrote 1k of the Nein reacting to the boys ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. That'll be up the day after this goes, and, like, comment I guess if this is any good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mighty Nein bully Fjord and Cad (but mainly Fjord let's be honest) because they love each other.

Unsurprisingly, Jester is the first to notice the two as they walk hand in hand back to the group. 

In the brief calm before the storm, Fjord takes a moment to observe his friends. Beau looks like she’s about to start a fight with her tinderbox, unable to get the fire to start up again to prepare breakfast. Both Jester and Caleb are observing her, the wizard tossing a small flame from palm to palm as he watches. Veth and Yasha are off a little ways, theoretically collecting wood but Fjord knows they’ll come back with as many flowers as they do branches. A perfectly normal morning for their very strange group.

The relative quiet in the clearing shatters as Jester turns to rifle in her haversack and spots Fjord and Caduceus.

“OHMYGOSH FJORD AND CADUCEUS ARE YOU TWO DATING ARE YOU IN LOVE TELL ME EVERYTHING!!”

“Yup,” Caduceus affirms before Fjord can even think to speak, and boy, he’s going to have to have a talk with Cad about what part of that question he was answering.

“Oh my gosh,” Jester repeats as she runs over to Caduceus and pulls him away from Fjord, tugging Cad by the arm to where she was sitting by the almost-fire. “Caduceus you have to tell me absolutely everything I cannot  _ believe  _ you two are  _ dating _ and you didn’t say  _ anything _ ! Oh, and Fjord!--” Jester whips back around and runs to Fjord, still standing where she had pulled Cad from him. Jester skids to a halt in front of Fjord, clasping his hand in hers. “Fjord, I’m realllly happy for you two. This is so great. You two are good together.”

Fjord clears his throat and chuckles softly. “Thanks, Jessie. Though, I will say you’ve only known we’re together for about thirty seconds so I’m not sure how qualified you are to know that we’re good together.”

“Yes but you’re great and Caduceus is great and so you two together must be wonderful. And I cannot believe neither of you told us!” Jester huffs and her tail gently smacks Fjord in the face as she turns back to Caduceus. “VETH! YASHA! COME BACK WE HAVE NEWS!”

Jester plops down next to Beau and the fire and gestures at Caduceus to join them with one hand while pulling ribbon from her haversack with the other. “Beau, c’mon, let Caleb magic the fire and sit with us! Fjord and Caduceus are dating how are you not freaking out!”

Beau throws her hands up as her latest efforts to get the fire going fail yet again, mumbling about never paying attention to those stupid Soul survival classes anyways. She turns to Jester and puts on what Fjord supposes is her best ‘surprised’ face, but she mostly looks constipated.

“Oh, wow, Fjord and Caduceus are dating? Shit, man, I had no idea....” Beau trails off unconvincingly and winces when Jester turns around to glare at her.

“Be-au! You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

“Hey, look, I only found out last night and you were still passed out from that battle, what, did you want me to wake you up in the middle of the night just to gossip?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I want. I’m glad you understand.” Jester flashes a smile at Beau before turning back to Caduceus, pulling him down to lay his head in her lap so she can start weaving in ribbons and beads. “Alright Caduceus, you have to tell us everything, how did it start, when did it start, have you kissed--”

Fjord, still standing by the edge of their encampment, doesn’t miss the way Beau smiles softly at the tiefling despite her admonishments. He really needs to check in with Beau soon.

As Fjord observes his friends, Caleb suddenly appears at his side. Caleb’s not the stealthiest man but he’s so quiet that most of the time he gets overlooked. Somewhat awkwardly, he claps Fjord on the shoulder with one hand while the other throws a small bout of fire at the logs Beau abandoned.

“I suppose congratulations are in order, ja?” 

“I suppose. Thanks, Caleb.” Fjord kicks at the dirt by his feet and shoves his hands in his pockets, resisting the urge to bite his lip. Fjord’s growing used to be the object of attention when Cad is the one giving it, but coming from others still takes some getting used to.

“For what it is worth, I think he is lucky to have your love.”

Fjord flinches mid kick and almost stumbles over his own feet, quickly righting himself. “--I didn’t say anything about love.”

“You did not have to.” Caleb’s gaze flickers over the others, from Caduceus and the girls around the fire to Yasha and Veth returning from gathering wood. “It is, a, a very specific look one has when they are in love. Easy to recognize if you are familiar with it.” Caleb’s gaze lingers first on Jester and then Veth as the women approach and assess the situation.

“What is the news, we heard you yelling,” Yasha speaks more than asks, stoking the fire and stretching out next to the girls. “Good morning, Caduceus.”

Cad smiles up at her. “Mornin, Yasha.”

“Well, we just found out that--drumroll please,” Beau obliges the request. “Da da da da! Fjord and Caduceus are dating!” Jester’s fingers continue to fly in Cad’s hair, weaving in ribbon and making some sort of crown of braids.

“Oh, that is very nice. Congratulations,” Yasha smiles down at Caduceus and then up at Fjord, seemingly unphased by the information but happy for them.

“Well I for one cannot believe this,” Veth throws down her bundle of wood and crosses her arms, staring down Fjord in her usual manner before turning her gaze onto the cleric. “Caduceus, I thought you had TASTE! I know you were checking out that minotaur as well, you don’t fool me--compared to him Fjord is just  _ tiny _ !”

The girls erupt into conversation, debating the merits of Sunbreaker Olomon compared to Fjord, Jester valiantly defending him. Yasha and Caduceus mostly listen, sharing soft smiles that are somewhat sad on Yasha’s end. Eventually Caleb joins them around the fire, attempting to rein in Veth a bit--”and don’t even get me started on Wursh!”

Eventually, Fjord wanders over to sit with them as well, blushing furiously at the ensuing cat-calls when Caduceus reaches out to hold his hand. As loud and enthusiastic the others are, Fjord can tell they’re glad for the two--even Veth, who’d likely never admit it. His blush fades as Fjord looks at these people, these friends, gathered around him. Caduceus was right, the other night, about Fjord not wanting to leave, but wrong about the why. Or, well, mostly wrong. Fjord would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t willing to follow Caduceus wherever he goes--and that’s a thought to unpack later. But he cares so much for these people, these friends of his. The Mighty Nein, misfits though they may be, is the closest thing he’s had to family maybe all his life, and Fjord intends to keep it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Mighty Nein be like: If you are one of ours we will kill for you, die for you, move heaven and hell for you, do anything and everything to make you happy, but if you openly show affection we WILL bully you.
> 
> Come yell at me in the comments if this is any good.


End file.
